Hide and Seek
by laurenwrites
Summary: When Jade gets paired with Ryder Daniels for a tech theater project, neither her nor her upset boyfriend could have predicted what would come of it. Or, in which I attempt to show Beck's jealous/protective side. Bade.
1. One

**I've always wanted to try my hand at a Protective!Jealous!Beck fic, so here's Part One. Rachel will murder me if the second part isn't up within the next few hours, so hopefully that will happen?**

* * *

"...Oliver and Harris, and Daniels and West. That's it for the pairings; make sure to meet with your partners sometime this week, as the project is due on Friday!"

Just as Mr. Penny—Hollywood Arts's tech theater teacher—finishes his word, the unique bell sounds off for the students to head out of their last class. Before Beck can even roll his eyes in response to his girlfriend's partner, Ryder has already sauntered over to the couple.

"Hey, Jade," he charms, paying no attention Beck's defensive arm around her shoulder. "I gotta say, I'm pretty glad we're partners. I'm...not exactly awesome at all this tech stuff."

When Ryder adds a wink to his smiling face, Jade feels her boyfriend pull her closer into him. As she brings her hand up to slip it into his, releasing some of his tension, she notices that Ryder is still staring at her.

"Yeah, it's whatever," she replies as the three of them exit the classroom. "I guess we'll just figure out a time to meet."

"My house is available tonight," he offers immediately. "You could come over around seven?"

"Why so late?" Beck pipes in, trying (and failing) to sound causal-like he _doesn't_ want to beat Ryder with the first thing his hands can grab.

"I've got rehearsal for a musical in one of my classes after school," he answers smoothly. "We're doing a bit from Rent, actually, this Friday night."

"Surprisingly not lame," Jade retorts.

"You like Rent?"

"Please, Daniels. My dream to play Maureen on Broadway is practically the reason I got into musical theater in the first place."

"I think you'd make an awesome Maureen," he banters.

"Of course I would." She gives him a hint of a smile, and Beck's throat clearing is very audible amidst the silence.

"Hey, well I'd better get off to rehearsal. But, I'll see you tonight at seven?"

"I'll be there."

When he's disappeared, Jade pulls apart from Beck to walk to her locker. He follows quickly behind her, even offering to help her get her books in her bag.

"I'm fine, Babe. Stop being so jumpy."

"Jumpy?" He repeats skeptically. "What? I'm not jumpy."

She kinks her eyebrow. "Whatever you say."

He musters a smile and takes her hand. "You up to get a coffee?"

"Yeah, I thi—"

_Snip. Snip._

When Jade pulls her pearphone out upon hearing the sound of her text tone, she glances down to see a message from Ryder.

"Everything okay?" Beck asks.

After half a minute, she looks back up at him. "The girl who's playing Maureen in their class is out today and they need a stand in to rehearse... He offered just to take me to his house after to work on the project."

Beck rubs his forehead. "Seriously? What about coffee?"

"It's one rehearsal, Beck. I'd be helping them out, and it's not like I don't know all of Maureen's musical lines anyways."

He sighs and shuts her locker for her. "I guess you should go, then. Text me if you need anything."

"You know I will," she confirms, leaning in to kiss him.

"Oh," Beck stammers as they pull apart, "you're...not going to have to...you know, like, _make out_ with him or anything, right?"

Jade smirks. "Relax, Beck. Maureen's a lesbian for like… eighty percent of this play," she says, beginning her walk towards the black box theater.

"What about the other twenty?" He calls out after her, but she just waves her hand goodbye without even so much as turning around. Beck rolls his eyes—maybe his mom is right about Jade rubbing off on him—and heads out to his car.

As he sticks the key into the ignition, he tries to push away his thoughts about his girlfriend and Ryder.

_She'd never kiss him, right? Even if it were just for a play? She wouldn't do that... She knows it would upset him... Right?_

.

"You live in Wilshire?"

When Ryder's black Mustang pulls into the expensive Beverly Hills neighborhood, Jade looks at him in surprise.

"Yeah," he laughs. "I've lived here for years. Your house is the big white one on Olympia, right?"

She furrows her eyebrows. "How do you know where I live?"

"Everyone knows that house, West. Biggest in the neighborhood... It's at the top of the hill, for Christ's sake."

The darkness hides her blush, but she's secretly somehow excited about the fact that he knows her house. Maybe it's because he's _hot_ and _perfect_—as she had once described to Tori—but she gets this tingly feeling when her intuition tells her that he's interested in her.

Of course, her heart belongs to Beck and she knows he's all she'll ever need... but a part of her wants to let herself be enthralled by Ryder. He's mysterious and different and sexy—and she's never seen someone be so unafraid to flirt with her in front of Beck. Jade has to admit that it had turned her on _just a little _to see how bold he'd been, since every other guy at Hollywood Arts is scared shitless of her defensive boyfriend.

"Alright, we're here," he announces, pulling into his driveway before hopping out of the car.

Jade follows him inside the empty home, where he leads her to the spacious kitchen. "Nice place," she compliments.

"Like yours isn't twice the size," he replies through a grin.

She rolls her eyes and sinks into a corner chair at the table, where he takes a seat next to her at the head.

"Alright, so we just have to design a set... This shouldn't be _too_ miserable," Jade mumbles.

"Yeah... You're pretty good in every subject, aren't you?"

She looks up from the rubric at him. "You know I can see through your bullshit, right?"

He cocks his head to the side. "What're you talking about?"

"You don't fool me, Daniels... I know what you're trying to do."

"Oh you do, do you?"

He's staring right into her eyes. He's not even trying to hide it. _Is he crazy?_

"We should get started," she stammers, breaking the tense silence. "We've got a lot of work to do."

.

_"Shit. Shit, this is a bad idea."_

Beck is so caught up in his thoughts that he almost gets in a wreck when he hears his phone ring. He quickly checks it to see that it's Andre, and he knows if he doesn't answer that he'll keep calling.

"Hey, Man. Make this quick; I'm sorta busy. What's up?"

"At seven thirty on a Monday nigh—Oh, god... Oh, crap, did I interrupt you and Jade aga—"

"No, no," Beck cuts him off. "She doesn't let me keep my phone on during...that...anyways anymore. Just... what's up?"

"I'm calling to ask when you wanna start on our project," he explains as Beck turns out of his own neighborhood.

.

"How the hell did we go from working on this project to running lines?"

"You're helping me," Ryder reasons, grinning as he sets his script down on the couch.

"You're lucky I'm even reading for Mimi. She's probably my least favorite character."

"But I'm Roger in this play, and this is the most important scene between him and Mimi. Besides, I know you like the song."

Jade sighs and gives him a hint of a smile. "Fine, I'll sing it."

"Thanks," is his reply. "Oh, and…before I forget to say it: thanks for being here in general. I really appreciate you being here to do this with me."

This time, it's harder to hide her blush. She gives him a simple nod before tapping the space bar on his computer to start the song, avoiding saying anything. As they start the number between the two people—who, in this time in the musical, are discovering their love for each other—they find themselves nailing each note. Though they both know there's a kiss at the end, Jade just focuses on staying in character and remembering the lyrics.

.

"Name?"

"Who's that?" Beck hears Andre ask.

"Hold on," Beck tells him, putting his phone on mute. He turns toward the guard gate and flashes his smile. "Beck Oliver," he says, well aware that the guard knows who he is.

"Go ahead," the security guard mumbles, opening the gates for him to enter.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Beck answers. "Sorry."

"Where are you?"

"I'm going to Jade's."

"I thought Jade was working with Ryder tonight."

Beck's quiet for a second. "What? Who told you that?"

"You did. You texted me all annoyed earlier, and when I asked why you were in a bad mood you told me."

Beck mutters a cuss word under his breath. "Oh. Well I'm picking her up and we're going to her place."

"It's only been thirty minutes."

Beck pulls up to Ryder's street and parks in front of a house a few down to not seem so obvious. "Yeah," he stutters, "they, uh…finished quick."

"Beck, tell me you're not going to spy on your gir—"

"Hey, I gotta go. Catcha later, bye!"

As soon as he's off the phone, Beck exits his truck and begins walking slowly over to Ryder's house. He has really no idea what he's doing—and the idea of trying to spy on Jade might not only result in an explosion by her but also embarrassment on his part—but his curiosity (jealousy) keeps him moving all the way to the front of the home.

"_You_," Ryder, meanwhile, sings as he steps towards her.

"_Me_," Jade returns. "_You_."

"_Mi-mi,_" he finishes, just as Beck pops his head up and stares through a window. With flawless timing, he looks in to see Ryder leaning in to Jade.

His heart is pounding as his eyes fixate on the sight in front of him, his blood boiling with rage as he watches someone else touch her. Ryder sets his hand on her waist—the space she only ever lets _Beck_ hold—and Beck swears that he'll kill this guy with his own two hands.

Jade can feel his breath on her skin, and it doesn't feel real. She doesn't feel sparks or see stars—like she unfailing does when her boyfriend's near her—but it's certainly a heightening experience, and she tells herself repeatedly that it's all just a part of her character.

She reminds herself that Beck himself had kissed Tori for an acting scene just a couple of years ago—and that had been in front of the entire _class_. Which is why, when he finally presses his lips to hers for _Roger and Mimi's _big kiss, she lets herself kiss him back a little.


	2. Two

Beck is stirring in the bushes outside, steaming with mixed emotions of hurt and anger. By the time he's fumbled out onto the grass, Ryder and Jade have pulled apart and he can see that his girlfriend looks upset.

"Jade," Ryder sighs as he watches her return to the kitchen to get her Gears of War bag. "Jade, stop."

"No, I need to go," she counters. "We're not even working on our proj—"

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Ryder groans, making his way to the front door. He opens it—much to his surprise—to an infuriated Beck, who's quick to grab him by the collar of his shirt.

"What the hell are you doing touching my girlfriend?" He barks through gritted teeth.

"Beck," Jade protests in shock, returning to the living room. "Beck, calm down."

"Why were you kissing him? Huh?" He accuses, shoving Ryder away from him to face Jade. "I thought I could trust you, Jade. I thought that's something that we agreed was important in a relationship."

"Beck, just let me exp—"

"Chill the fuck out, Dude," Ryder cuts in. "She was helping me out with something."

"Oh, I'm sure she was," Beck retorts sardonically.

"Beck, stop it!" Jade shouts. "Just listen to m—"

"I knew you'd take advantage of her," he rages towards Ryder as he moves aggressively towards him. The paler boy withdraws defensively, and, when Beck is sure that he's scared him enough, he backs off.

"My car's outside," he informs his girlfriend. "I'll take you home."

Her mouth falls open. "No!"

"_No?_"

"You heard me. You can't just storm in here like a psycho and accuse me of something when you have no idea what the hell was going on."

"Get in the car, Jade," he says, his tone sterner than before.

"I can take her home," Ryder interrupts.

"I've had enough out of you," Beck retorts.

"I'll _walk _home," she demands, walking between the two to exit the house.

Though they both call her name, Beck is the only one to follow her outside (slamming the front door shut as he does). "Jade, it's dark. You're not walking home alone."

"Please, my house is half a mile away."

"I know exactly how far away your house is. Let me drive you."

"No," she rejects, obviously adamant about her decision as she starts walking.

Beck groans and gets in his car to follow her, despite the fact that he knows it'll only piss her off even more. As she walks on the sidewalk, staying on the side with the streetlights, she sees him begin to drive alongside her.

They're both angry, but that's not stopping him from rolling down the window. "Jade," he begs, "what did I do? What did I do to deserve you going and making out with another guy?"

She ignores him—and again ignores his next few questions—all the way until she's reached her house. Without even saying a word to him, she enters her gate code and begins the walk up to the front door. When he's sure she's safe inside, he sighs and drives home.

.

The next several days all seem to blur together. Jade finds herself spending more time with Ryder, even attending some of his after-school rehearsals for fun. Beck refuses to get over the idea that she's cheating on him—but he won't break up with her until they can sort things out.

"Maybe you guys just need a little break," Cat had tried to tell him. "Just give her some space for a few days. You'll be okay. You guys love each other too much to just throw this away. It was just a fight."

By the time Friday rolls around, Beck is miserable. Jade is, too, but she's masking it under the façade that Ryder has kept her completely entertained. He's giving her all the attention she could ever want, and (dating Beck or not) she's not going to turn it down—especially when she sees how obviously jealous it makes him.

She sits in the front row of the black box theater to see him play Roger in his class's production of _Rent_, and he winks at her during curtain call when he sees her on her feet clapping for him. The after party that follows is put on by Ryder's wealthy parents, and is held at the upscale Hollywood Roosevelt in downtown Los Angeles. Practically their entire grade is in attendance, including Jade's usual friends—and even her boyfriend.

Andre is the first to spot her. She's wearing her black spiked pumps, slimming black jeans, and an expensive purple top that shows off just the right amount of skin (and matches the streaks in her hair). As she rests her elbows on the bar, she's bent over to reveal her cleavage to the bartender—who's looking at anything but her (fake) ID when she orders her drink.

"Coming right up, Gorgeous," he assures her with a grin.

"So, what'd you order?"

When she spins to the side to face the familiar voice, it's immediately obvious to him that she's not completely sober.

"Long Island Iced Tea, what's it to you?" She asks, her words just slightly slurred.

"I'm just grabbin' a beer," Andre replies. "Thought I'd say hi. You come here with Ryder?"

She furrows her eyebrows. "I'm still with Beck, you know."

"I know. You've just been hanging out around Ryder a lot, so I was just wondering."

The bartender hands her the drink, and Jade takes a large sip before turning back to her friend. "Well he drove me here, if that's what you're asking. But, rest assured, I'll be going home _alone_."

He nods. "Let me know if you need a ride."

"Will do," she slurs, sauntering back over to where Ryder's standing. Andre sighs and gets started on his beer.

It's going to be a long night.

.

"Hi, Beautiful," Ryder greets Jade as he gives her an overly touchy hug. "How's your drink?"

"It's good," she smirks, and it's more obvious that she's getting even drunker. "But not as good as _you_ were in the play tonight." She taps his nose flirtatiously and he grins.

"You know, Robyn is playing tonight," he informs her, reminding her of her love for the electronic pop singer.

Her eyes get wider. "She is?"

"Yep! Look, turn around. They're setting up the colored lights!"

Jade does as she's told, thereby completely missing the tiny white pill he slips into her drink.


	3. Three

_Jade does as she's told, thereby completely missing the tiny white pill he slips into her drink._

"Oh my god, I'm so excited!" She (uncharacteristically) shrieks, playfully patting his chest. Across the room, Beck—fully sober—catches her action in his line of vision and begins a beeline over to where she is.

"Here we go," Ryder groans, moving just inches away from the dark-haired girl.

"Jade," he says, fully aware of how wasted she is just by looking at her. "Are you okay?"

She narrows her eyes. "Yes, I'm okay, thankyouverymuch."

"How are you getting home?"

"I'm drivin' her," Ryder announces.

Beck shakes his head. "Not with that drink in your hand, you're not," he replies, glancing at his near-empty Vodka Sprite.

"Please," Ryder scoffs, "I could have six of these before I even feel the buzz."

"I don't care if you'd have had a sip of it. You're not driving her home after you've been drinking," he affirms before looking back to Jade. "I know we're not on the best terms right now, Jade, but please. Please come find me or Andre when you want to leave. Promise me."

Even in her intoxicated state, Jade stares at his eyes and can sense how defensive he's getting. He has an expression that she'd know anywhere—the serious one he wears when he's not playing around. He's almost scared her at times, when he gets very protective, but she knows that it's just one of the ways he shows his love.

It's too bad that the drugs lacing through her system prevent her thinking from going that far.

"Promise me," he says again, and she tunes back into his words in time to nod her head.

"Promise."

"Okay. Thanks," he offers, giving her a hopeful, small smile before returning to his friends.

"Hey," Ryder notes pointing to the stage, "it looks like she's starting."

The cheers are beginning to get louder as people flock around the colorful stage, where the iconic pop singer begins to get the crowd riled up. When she starts her first song, the only lights in the club are the strobe lights that flicker wildly all over the dance floor.

As Jade dances amidst the crowd, with Ryder by her side, she begins to lose control of her body. She feels her mind slipping away, as if she couldn't give a care in the world about anything that happened to her. The music and the lights start to take over, transporting her to a different world.

"Feel good?" Ryder asks, a sickening smile on his face.

"Mmhmm," she murmurs, letting herself fall back onto him so he can dance with her from behind her body.

After ten minutes or so—but Jade has completely lost track of time—Ryder slips his hand into hers and nuzzles his face into her neck. "Come with me," he breathes into her ear, and she all but disagrees.

Lucky for him, no one is able to see him leading her out of the dance area and up the stairs. He's almost gotten to the rooftop when, back in the club, Cat approaches Beck.

"Have you seen Jade recently?" She asks frantically, dragging a very drunk Tori with her by the wrist.

"Twenty or thirty minutes ago. She promised she'd let me or Andre drive her home, though. Why?"

"I can't find her anywhere! Maybe Andre already took her home—where is he?"

Beck checks his phone to see that it's been ten minutes since he last saw Andre, and also notices that his best friend hasn't texted him. "He probably just took her. I'll try to call him."

.

"You're so beautiful, Jade. I don't think Beck tells you that enough, but you're so beautiful."

As Jade leans up against the wall of the building, Ryder presses kisses to her neck and eventually to her lips.

"I don't want…I don't…No," she protests, her words barely able to be made out.

"Shh, it's okay. It's fine," he comforts, slipping his hands under her shirt.

"No," she slurs, "where's Beh…"

"He left. He went home. It's okay. I'm gonna take care of you, I promise."

.

"Hey, man," Andre says from behind Beck, holding up his ringing phone. "Why the call?"

"You seen Jade?"

"No, I just went to the bathroom. Why?"

Beck shoves his phone back into his pocket. "Watch Tori. Cat, come with me."

"Where are we going?" She calls after him, but decides to follow him despite the lack of response. After scouring the dance floor, Beck's heart is beating faster and faster.

"You go to the bathroom," he instructs. "Try to find her, and if she's not in there, check the bar again. Maybe she went back. I'm taking the stairs to see if maybe she went to the roof. Keep your phone on you."

"Kay-kay," she promises, hurrying off to the girl's room.

Beck's never moved faster in his life as he pushes past the crowd of drunk people to get to the exit door leading to the stairs.

"Jade?" He calls out. "Jade, are you up here?"

The echo of his voice booms throughout the concrete stairwell, and that's the only response he receives. He keeps running up, skipping steps and propelling upwards until finally reaching the roof.

They say that, in times of high stress, the human body does things that it normally couldn't. All logical thought and reason flies out the window when the person makes the choice between defending themselves (or someone else) or fleeing. Beck's never personally experienced the Fight-or-Flight Complex, but the sight in front of him puts feelings of rage in his body that he's never felt before.

"Hey!" He shouts impulsively, headed straight for where Ryder is attempting to unbutton Jade's jeans. "I swear to God, if you make one more move I'll kill you."

Ryder turns around and pulls away from Jade, who subsequently collapses onto the ground.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Beck bellows, rushing over to his seemingly unconscious girlfriend. As soon as his eyes are on her, though, Ryder makes a run for it.

Beck is faster, and after catching up with him, socks him as soon as he can. The punch will make a bruise on Ryder's eye, but it's not enough to take him down. With full force, he runs towards Beck and pushes him straight in the gut, knocking him to the floor.

His anger is masking the pain, though, because he's back up in seconds and soon takes Ryder out with a punch that puts him on the ground. Once he's down, Beck kicks him a few times to ensure that he won't be moving. Just as he does, Cat bursts through the door.

She's slowly taking in the sight in front of her, but Beck has already run back over to Jade. She still has her bra on, her top discarded on the floor beside her. It makes Beck sick to his stomach, but Ryder is the least of his worries at the moment.

"Jade," he breathes, "Jade, can you hear me?" He checks her pulse to find, thankfully, that she's still breathing. "Baby, I'm right here. It's Beck. Can you hear me?"

When her eyes flutter open, her pupils land on the boy bent over her. She murmurs something incomprehensible, and from the corner of his eye he can see her hand moving just barely towards him. He's quick to take it, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss it before pressing it to his chest.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispers. "I'm gonna take you home, okay?" She's not very responsive, but Beck slips her shirt back over her head and hands her purse to Cat, who's standing worriedly behind him. He scoops his arms under her body—one under her back and the other under the crease of her legs—and slowly stands back up. Her head falls to rest on his chest and, despite the drama it'd taken them to get to this point, he can't help but feel relieved that she's back where she belongs.

In his arms.

.

An hour after they've arrived home to Beck's RV from the hospital, Jade is finally starting to come to. She wakes up in Beck's bed, where he's sitting beside her and running a gentle hand through her hair.

"Wh...where am I? What happened?"

"I took you home. You were at the Roosevelt for the play after party, and you... were drugged."

Her eyebrows knit together, and her breathing begins to get heavier as she gets flashbacks from the early hour of the roofie.

"Beck," she breathes, her crystal blue eyes looking up at him, "I think... I think he—"

"He didn't," he quickly cuts her off. "He didn't."

Still, the little memory she has is too overwhelming, and her eyes are watering with tears that begin to fall.

He realizes that he could tell her not to cry. He could tell her that it's all okay because he's here now, and because he beat the shit out of a now-arrested Ryder, and because he's always going to protect her no matter what.

He realizes too, though, that she's emotional. She's had a long week, and he'd yelled at her, and she'd been drinking earlier, and a guy she thought she could trust had drugged and taken advantage of her.

So, instead of telling her not to cry, he simply sinks down beside her, slinging his arm around her as he does, and pulls her smaller body into his. His arms hold her close to his chest and he feels her heaving against him, her tears soaking his shirt.

"I love you," is all Beck says, dropping a long kiss to her hair. "I love you more than anything, okay? I'm so sorry about earlier this week, I just—"

"No," she sniffles, wiping a tear from under her eye, "you were right. I shouldn't have—"

"Jade," he interrupts, "it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we're here, right now, together." When he leans in to gently kiss her, she swears she forgets everything.

"I'll be here," he promises. "Always."

* * *

**The end is inspired by Ben Taylor's song By Your Side. Look it up, and maybe drop a review.**


End file.
